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By Ann Sulaiman on Dec 2, 2010 | In Reviews, Features | Send feedback »
NIGHTFALL - 'ASTRON BLACK AND THE THIRTY TYRANTS', METAL BLADE' 2010
Save for death metal’s bloody infatuation with war, Metal’s affair with history is often read as a one-sided deal where past lessons are pushed aside for modern accounts of glory days gone by. Nightfall‘s recent fare, ‘Astron Black and the Thirty Tyrants‘ isn’t necessarily an exception to this idea; in the respect that modern fantasy is used to retell the aftermath of past reality. Lyrically, the album narrates the story of the epic hero Astron Black and his ultimately failed quest to lead the Ancient Grecian army to final victory. Musically though, Nightfall‘s take on this angle lends the tale a more futuristic grounding – one imagines Astron Black as a champion in science fiction rather than historical fantasy.
As tempting as it is to solely blame this outcome on the band’s melodic gothic sound; doing so likely misses the point of what the Athenian quartet had aimed for with their own revisit to their country’s past during the peak of its time. History can never be recreated without an element of distance, and this works in Nightfall‘s favour when they look at it through both their fictional lead character as well as a modernised genre like gothic metal. With the latter’s tendency to infuse synthesized rhythms with crushing riffs, it may seem jarring to imagine how effective it might be for songs about the Greeks’ invasions of far-off lands. Yet at the same time, it is these sides to the music which present more leeway to relive the past without reinventing it entirely.
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METALUCIFER - 'HEAVY METAL DRILL', IRON PEGASUS RE-RELEASE; 1998
It’s a bit over a decade since Metalucifer let their first LP loose on the Metal underground; not only setting the future course of their career but also spreading more awareness of Nihon metal aside from countrymen Sigh. Being the debut album in the band’s discography, ‘Heavy Metal Drill‘ comes long before the ingenious decision to have an alternative line up performing the same songs and lyrics for European audiences and after frontman Gezolucifer sought an outlet through which to play in the traditionally escapist vein of Heavy Metal.
As an album that celebrates Metal in mind, body and spirit, ‘Heavy Metal Drill‘ is persistent in laying down the ground rules for the rest of Metalucifer‘s discography. This comes not only from a knowledge of the group’s later releases, but also the music itself. Though produced and created in the noughties, the sound production stays low without compromising the record’s tunes; adding to the ongoing “plastic versus organic” debate of the underground metal realm.
Much as this counts as a plus point in the issue of “true” heavy metal, it stands that as a re-release the album’s added bonus live tracks tend to blend together with the studio songs before them. Although an arguable testament to “organic” sound’s ability to bring in a near-live experience on CD, one wonders whether such material works as a bonus for anyone save die-loyal fans who may prefer actual live material in person.
This doesn’t even include the Japanese language version of ‘Headbanging‘, that features towards the end. It grounds Metalucifer as members of a scene with its own unique character and nature to the more prevalent European and American scenes in public consciousness; albeit that it only features on a re-release rather than the original debut could suggest its place as a reflective afterthought during the start of the band’s career.
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